The subject matter described and/or illustrated herein relates generally to electrical contacts, and more particularly, to the electrical contacts of interconnect members that electrically interconnect electrical components.
Interconnect members are sometimes used to provide electrical connection between different electrical components, such as, but not limited to, integrated circuits, electronic modules, printed circuit boards, and the like. Many of these electrical components have mating contacts arranged in a “land grid array” (LGA), which is a two-dimensional array of contact pads. One type of interconnect device, sometimes known as an “interposer”, has an array of compressible contacts which is placed between the two opposing arrays of the electrical components to provide an electrical connection between the mating contacts of the opposing arrays.
Competition and market demands have continued the trend toward smaller and higher performance (e.g., faster) electronic systems. To achieve such smaller and higher performance systems, it may be desirable to increase the number and/or density of mating contacts on the electrical components. The compressible contacts of interconnect members are typically spring beams that include a bend to enable the beam to compress by folding about the bend. Other known compressible contacts of interconnect members have discrete springs that are separate from, and surround, a body of the contact. But, known compressible contacts of interconnect members suffer from disadvantages when used with an increased number and/or density of mating contacts on the electrical components. For example, known compressible contacts may have a limited working range. Additionally, the contact force required to compress known contacts may be higher than is desired, which may increase the stresses that build within the contact during compression thereof. The increased stresses may cause the contact to fatigue and thereby fail. Moreover, the increased stresses within the contact may limit the number of mating cycles of the contact and/or may limit the working range of the contact even further.